^ N . 


The  Church  on  a War  Basis 

BY 

S.  RALPH  HARLOW 


Design  Patented  November  6,  1917 


AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COMMISSIONERS 
FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
14  BEACON  STREET  - BOSTON  ' MASS. 


To  the  fathers  and  the  mothers 
Whose  children  are  Abroad, 

In  the  service  of  the  Nation 
Or  the  service  of  the  Lord. 


The  Church  on  a War  Basis 

By  S.  RALPH  HARLOW 

★ ★ 

The  Challenge.  In  this  age  when  convictions  are  being 
forged  amid  the  heat  of  war  and  the  sacrifices  of  the  battle 
front  the  accusation  is  being  brought  repeatedly  against  the 
Church  that  it  lacks  a vital  message  for  the  hour.  “Among 
the  majority  of  those  attached  to  the  churches  there  is  obvi- 
ously a faintness  of  conviction  and  a fading  enthusiasm.  Any 
sense  of  possessing  an  Evangel  for  the  Age  is  utterly  lack- 
ing;” so  writes  Dr.  Orchard,  the  great  London  preacher.  In 
Donald  Hankey’s  widely  read  book,  “A  Student  in  Arms,”  the 
question  is  raised  as  to  whether  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  or  some 
other  organization,  will  not  be  substituted  for  the  Church, 
when  the  millions  of  fighting  men  return  from  the  trenches. 
In  a letter  from  a man  who  has  been  three  years  at  the  front 
are  these  words:  “ It  is  not  that  we  are  bitter  over  the  failure 
of  the  Church  to  sound  a message,  we  are  only  sad.” 

A United  Church.  Yet  never  in  all  its  history  has  the 
Church  been  more  united  than  it  is  today— Protestant  and 
Catholic,  Greek  and  Bulgarian,  we  are  welded  together  by 
one  mighty  conviction.  And  I am  thinking  not  only  of  the 
Church  in  the  Allied  nations  but  also  of  the  Church  in  the 
Central  Powers.  We  are  united  in  this — that  we  have 
backed  our  Governments  in  war,  to  the  last  man  and  last 
dollar  if  need  be.  Possibly  the  German  Christians  have 
outstripped  all  other  branches  of  the  Church  in  loyalty  to 
the  Government  which  they  serve,  but  we  are  willing  to  chal- 
lenge their  loyalty  with  our  own. 

The  Kaiser  and  God.  All  of  us  have  been  horrified  by 
the  expressions  of  pious  sentiment  in  which  the  Kaiser  and 
God,  the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness  and  the  German  Gov- 
ernment were  linked  up  so  closely  as  to  be  almost  inter- 
changeable. But  let  us  not  forget  that  the  great  Hippo- 
drome in  New  York  rang  with  the  plaudits  of  thousands 


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THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


while  Dr.  George  Adams,  one  of  our  American  ministers  of 
the  Gospel,  told  the  crowd  that  he  had  been  a minister  of  the 
Church  whose  business  it  was  to  keep  men  out  of  hell,  but 
that  now  he  was  a member  of  a Board  of  Munitions  whose 
business  was  “to  blow  the  Germans — where  they  belong.” 
This  was  at  a meeting  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  I dare  to  maintain  that  the  Church  has  sounded  more 
clearly  and  more  trenchantly  than  any  other  organization 
behind  the  Government  the  message  of  the  hour — the  war 
message.  What  other  organization  displays  from  its  build- 
ings the  service  flag  as  often  as  the  Church  of  Christ?  And 
still  we  face  continual  accusations  that  we  lack  a message. 

On  my  desk  is  a letter  from  one  of  our  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secre- 
taries at  the  front  and  here  is  an  extract  from  his  letter:  “All 
doctrines  and  ecclesiastical  traditions  are  destroyed  never  to 
be  awakened.  What  shall  be  the  religion  of  the  future  is  the 
great  problem.”  We  have  given  our  sons,  parted  with  our 
money,  proclaimed  from  the  pulpit  that  we  stand  by  the 
nation  and  then  are  told  that  we  have  no  message. 

Is  It  possible  that  the  world  has  a better  understanding 
of  what  our  message  ought  to  be  than  we  in  the  Church  have 
apprehended  it?  Is  it  possible  that  we  are  content  to  sup- 
port earthly  powers  and  feel  satisfied  to  back  issues  that  are 
temporal,  while  the  whole  world  ishungeringand  unsatisfied, 
looking  to  us  for  a word  of  conviction  of  a Country  that  is 
Eternal  and  a Warfare  that  is  Spiritual. 

Our  War  Claims.  Is  it  not  along  this  fighting  line  and  on 
this  battle  front  that  we  are  rightly  judged  as  holding  a fad- 
ing enthusiasm  and  a faintness  of  conviction?  Because  we 
are  in  a world  at  war  folk  have  discovered  what  “a  war 
basis”  means.  They  know  and  we  know  that  the  Church 
has  always  claimed  to  be  on  “ a war  basis.  ” They  know  and 
we  know  that  our  Founder  made  all  the  claims  to  Kingship 
and  to  the  rights  of  a Commander,  and  that  He,  too,  said : “ I 
came  not  to  bring  Peace  but  a Sword.”  And  the  world 
knows  that  the  claims  of  its  warfare  are  earthly  claims  to  es- 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


3 


tablish  human  relationships — and  it  is  willing  to  leave  it  at 
that,  whatever  we  of  the  Church  try  to  read  into  it  of  deeper 
significance.  But  the  world  knows  that  we  lay  claim  that 
our  goal  is  an  Eternal  Kingdom  and  that  we  fight  to  establish 
spiritual  relationships  that  shall  outlive  the  body. 

The  Price  of  War.  Now  the  world  knows  the  price  it  is 
paying  in  its  warfare  and  it  knows  the  methods  of  that  war- 
fare. The  world  knows  the  price  our  Commander  asks  of  us, 
His  soldiers,  and  the  methods  He  offers  us  for  the  advance- 
ment of  His  cause.  And  as  the  world  contrasts  the  pas- 
sionate enthusiasm  and  conviction  with  which  youth  and 
age  have  poured  out  blood  and  treasure  for  earthly  kings 
with  the  devotion  of  the  Church  to  Christ  and  His  cause,  it 
hesitates  to  put  much  faith  in  us  or  our  convictions.  For  the 
world  has  placed  in  the  field  of  conflict  42,000,000  men, 
equipped  for  war.  It  has  followed  those  men  wherever  they 
have  gone  and  backed  them  to  the  last  trench  and  farthest 
mountain  top.  For  those  men  are  its  sons,  its  husbands,  its 
fathers,  brothers  and  sweethearts.  And  of  women  there  have 
been  not  a few,  as  Red  Cross  nurses,  or  driving  through  the 
mud  at  fifty  miles  an  hour  while  shells  burst  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  little  Ford  cars. 

The  Courage  of  the  Soldier.  And  the  soldiers  of  the 
world’s  armies,  ah ! with  what  spirit  they  have  offered  them- 
selves. The  snows  of  the  Alps  or  of  Siberia’s  winter ; the  hot, 
blasting  sands  of  the  desert,  the  mud  and  filth  of  Flanders — 
no  bitterness  of  climate,  no  peril  on  land  or  on  sea  could  keep 
them  from  the  call  of  duty.  Where  they  were  ordered  there 
they  went,  and  with  a song  for  Death  they  have  advanced 
over  fields  more  terrible  than  Dante’s  pictured  hell.  The 
tools  of  their  warfare,  terrible  to  dwell  upon,  they  have 
taken  in  their  hands  and  they  have  not  faltered.  The  liquid 
flame  that  bums  its  victims  to  a crisp,  the  gas  that  blinds  and 
torments,  the  bomb,  the  bayonet,  bursting  shell  and  vol- 
canic mine — these  have  been  their  instruments  of  warfare. 
Pain  and  torture  have  been  their  comrades  and  their  foes. 


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THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


And  in  their  ranks  and  by  their  side  the  Church  has  placed 
its  sons;  they,  who  were  called  “out  of  the  world”  have  not 
failed  the  world  in  this  hour  of  conflict. 

Our  Proclamation.  But  for  the  follower  of  Christ 
there  can  be  but  one  excuse  whereby  he  can  use  these  weap- 
ons of  the  world’s  warfare,  these  instruments  which  torture 
and  maim,  and  scar  his  brother  men.  That  one  excuse  is 
that,  given  no  other  way  out,  the  end  justifies  the  means. 
What  that  end  may  seem  to  be  to  the  German  Christian  we 
will  leave  to  his  conscience  and  the  God  of  J ustice.  We,  who 
fight  beneath  Freedom’s  banner,  believe  our  Cause  is  worth 
the  price,  though  we  shudder  at  the  means.  But  one  procla- 
mation we  have  dared  to  make  to  all  the  world  without  excuse 
for  methods  to  be  employed.  We  have  proclaimed  that  no 
matter  how  holy  and  how  righteous  this  earthly  warfare  is — 
our  Christian  warfare  is  more  holy;  that  no  matter  how 
great  the  need  for  political  righteousness  and  human  free- 
dom the  primary  need  of  humanity  is  personal  righteousness 
and  the  freedom  of  the  soul.  The  world  has  heard  our  proc- 
lamation for  we  have  been  sounding  it  through  twenty  cen- 
turies. And  the  folk  of  the  world  know  that  the  methods  of 
our  warfare  are  love,  mercy  and  peace.  What,  then,  is  the 
need  which  summons  us  to  battle,  what  the  goal  we  seek, 
what  our  answer  to  the  challenge? 

The  Call  to  Arms.  For  two  thousand  years  the  sum- 
mons of  our  Leader  ha-s  been  ringing  in  our  ears:  ‘‘Heal  the 
sick,  cleanse  the  leper,  open  the  blind  eyes,  preach  the 
Gospel.”  For  all  these  centuries  the  wail  of  millions  in 
agony  has  beaten  in  upon  our  self-complacency.  Millions  of 
women  and  little  ones  die  in  hopeless  misery.  One  who 
knows  conditions  in  India  and  at  the  front  says  that  there  is 
more  needless  suffering  among  the  women  and  children  of 
India  today  than  behind  the  battle  lines  of  France.  “ More 
needless  suffering!”  We  have  listened  again  and  again  to  the 
stories  of  the  child  widows  of  India.  And  in  Turkey,  one 
woman  in  a hundred  can  read  and  write  her  own  name. 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


5 


Misery,  ignorance  and  degradation  such  as  Northern  France 
has  not  seen  is  broad  cast  throughout  the  non-Christian  world. 
And  their  “ holy  places.  ” Have  we  not  heard  of  them  by  the 
thousands?  Old  wells,  where  mothers  plunge  their  sick 
children  through  the  icy  waters  and  cry  out  to  the  spirits  in 
the  dark  to  hear  and  to  heal ; tying  bits  of  rags  from  little 
tortured  bodies  to  remind  the  spirits  that  a baby  is  dying  in 
the  village.  Women  and  children  with  cruel  sores  creeping 
out  long  dusty  roads  to  drag  their  wearied  bodies  to  some 
old  tomb,  trusting  in  old  legends  to  meet  their  dire  need — the 
nearest  doctor  six  hundred  miles  away.  Will  the  spirits 
hear?  “Their  religion  is  good  enough  for  them.” 

The  Response.  Now  what  has  the  answer  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  been  to  this  cry  of  need,  this  wail  of  lost  souls? 
This  is  our  answer,  this  our  “rush  to  arms” — ^we  have  placed 
on  the  foreign  field  one  medical  missionary  for  every  two 
million,  five  hundred  thousand  people.  We  have  here  in 
these  United  States  one  doctor  for  every  six  hundred  people. 
That  is  our  war  basis.  We  have  a preacher  of  the  Gospel 
here  at  home  for  every  seven  hundred  of  us  here,  where 
every  one  in  three  of  us  profess  some  form  of  adherence  to 
the  army  of  Christ ; but  we  have  sent  out  to  preach  that  Gos- 
pel not  one  missionary  for  every  seven  hundred  thousand  of 
our  fellow  men,  who  have  never  heard  of  a God  of  Love  or  of 
a Saviour  who  gave  His  life  to  bring  us  all  home  to  the  Father. 
Our  convictions  for  earthly  things  are  greater  than  our  con- 
victions for  spiritual  things.  And  the  few  we  have  sent  forth 
to  bear  this  message  of  Life  Eternal — have  we  sent  them 
gladly,  freely,  rejoicing  in  their  warfare? 

The  Volunteers.  Let  me  be  concrete:  During  the  past 
year  my  pathway  has  been  in  and  out  among  our  schools  and 
colleges.  In  more  than  one  hundred  of  them  from  Maine  to 
California  my  theme  has  been  this  heavenly  warfare.  With 
over  nine  hundred  Christian  students  I have  held  individual 
conferences  talking  over  with  them  their  life  work  plans. 
Most  of  them  came  from  Christian  homes,  sons  and  daugh- 


6 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


ters  of  men  and  women  who  had  stood  at  the  Communion 
Table  of  our  Lord  and  professed  their  faith  in  Him  and  loy- 
alty to  His  program  for  the  redemption  of  the  world.  Yet 
not  less  than  one  third  of  the  young  people  with  whom  I talk 
raise  this  question — but  my  father  and  mother  would  never 
consent  to  my  being  a missionary.  Only  yesterday  afternoon 
a young  woman  was  in  my  office  considering  this  very  ques- 
tion. Her  mother  is  chairman  of  the  Missionary  Committee 
for  her  Church.  Yet  her  daughter  told  me  that  her  mother 
was  “afraid”  to  have  missions  emphasized  too  much  be- 
cause “some  of  our  young  people  might  take  it  into  their 
heads  to  be  missionaries.”  That  Church  flies  a large 
“service  flag.” 

Enlistment  Tests.  At  a recent  conference  of  young 
people  under  appointment  to  sail  for  over-seas  service  in  the 
army  of  Christ  they  rose  one  by  one  to  ask  for  prayer.  No 
secretaries  of  the  Board  were  present,  no  friends,  only  the 
volunteers.  At  least  one  third  of  that  group  made  this  plea 
— Oh,  pray  for  me  that  during  this  next  week  I may  have  the 
spirit  of  Christ  in  all  I do  and  say,  for  I must  go  back  to  my 
own  home  where  my  family  has  no  sympathy  with  my  mis- 
sionary purpose.  One  young  woman  broke  down  while  her 
husband  told  us  that  they  had  been  on  their  knees  till  two 
o’clock  the  previous  morning  asking  God  to  move  their  par- 
ents’ hearts,  so  bitter  was  the  opposition  to  their  sailing  in 
Christ’s  army.  Another  in  that  group  told  me  her  story  at 
the  close  of  the  service:  “In  my  mother’s  Sunday  School 
class  I learned  the  idea  of  service  for  Christ.  When  in  my 
sophomore  year  at  college  I wrote  home  and  told  my  par- 
ents that  I wanted  to  be  a missionary  I was  told  that  I must 
give  up  that  ‘foolish  idea,’  or  leave  college.  From  that  day 
I have  been  forced  to  earn  every  cent  of  my  way.  Week  by 
week  I wrote  a loving  letter  home.  Months  would  pass 
without  so  much  as  a postal  card  in  reply.  My  brothers  and 
sisters  joined  in  the  fight  to  break  my  ‘foolish’  purpose, 
though  they  are  members  of  the  Christian  church.  The 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


7 


night  before  I left  for  a missionary  training  school  to  com- 
plete my  preparation  for  my  life  work  my  sisters  stole  from 
my  room  all  my  books  and  clothing  which  they  were  able  to 
find.  With  what  little  I was  able  to  collect  I left  early  in  the 
morning.  I would  rather  sail  for  my  post  now  but  I feel  it 
my  duty  to  go  home  though  it  is  to  be  one  of  the  hardest  ex- 
periences of  my  life.  I do  it  for  Christ’s  sake.”  Well,  she’s 
out  on  the  firing  line  today,  out  there  where  the  battle  is  rag- 
ing back  and  forth  in  a continent  where  Islam  and  Christi- 
anity are  face  to  face  in  a death  struggle  for  the  supremacy 
of  a quarter  of  the  globe,  teaching  in  a Christian  school  for 
girls,  the  only  one  for  a vast  region,  where  a million  people 
wait  in  darkness  for  the  breaking  of  the  Light.  She  is  train- 
ing leaders  and  home  builders  for  the  future,  for  the  making 
ready  a nation  for  the  coming  of  the  King.  I hope  her 
Christian  parents  and  friends  write  her  a letter  once  in  a 
while,  a letter  to  their  soldier  in  Christ’s  army,  even  though 
they  have  no  service  flag  with  a star  in  it  outside  the  home. 
My  first  year  in  Turkey  brought  me  into  close  contact  with 
as  splendid  a type  of  manhood  as  I ever  hope  to  meet.  He 
was  a graduate  of  one  of  our  leading  universities  and  theo- 
logical seminaries.  He  didn’t  hear  from  home  because  his 
father  wanted  him  to  be  a lawyer  and  not  a soldier  of  the 
Cross  in  over-seas  service. 

The  Mothers  Who  Give.  Nor  should  I omit  another 
phase  of  this  problem  of  finding  volunteers  for  Christ’s  serv- 
ice battalions.  In  a city  of  the  middle  West  a young  medical 
graduate  and  his  bride  were  about  to  leave  for  China.  He 
was  to  take  his  place  as  a doctor  in  a city  of  teeming  thou- 
sands, waiting  for  his  healing  touch.  Thank  God  their  par- 
ents were  loyal  members  of  Christ’s  army.  But  into  that 
home  came  the  friends,  members  of  the  Church.  And  the 
old,  old  story  was  taken  up  to  which  I have  listened  many 
times,  “Oh,  how  can  they  let  their  children  go  way  off  there 
to  that  heathen  country?  Her  mother  can’t  love  her  as  we 
love  our  daughters.”  Never  shall  that  lie  dare  to  rise  to 


8 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


Christian  lips  again.  Are  the  mothers  who  are  giving  their 
boys  to  France  the  ones  who  do  not  care?  Are  the  fathers 
whose  daughters  are  now  upon  the  sea  sailing  through  the 
submarine  zone,  bound  for  the  hospitals  behind  the  lines  in 
Flanders,  the  fathers  who  care  less  for  their  daughters  than 
those  whose  sons  and  daughters  are  safe  at  home?  Just  this 
past  summer  a mother  came  to  me,  her  eyes  alight  with 
pride  and  enthusiasm.  Her  son  had  just  returned  from 
France  where  he  had  been  driving  an  ambulance.  He  was 
now  enlisting  in  the  aviation  service.  My  memory  took  me 
back  across  the  years — only  a few,  when  that  same  woman,  a 
member  of  the  Church  of  the  Living  Christ,  gave  her  daugh- 
ter twenty-four  hours  to  resign  from  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  or  be  cut  off  in  her  junior  year  of  college  without 
a cent  and  deprived  of  all  the  rights  of  a daughter.  Proud  of 
a son  who  will  rain  death  and  wounds  upon  the  sons  of  other 
mothers,  incensed  at  a Christ-like  daughter  whose  great  de- 
sire was  to  bring  the  touch  of  healing  to  those  in  pain  and  the 
light  to  those  in  darkness!  It  is  the  Great  Captain,  is  it  not, 
whom  we  call  “The  Light  of  the  World?'’  It  was  that  same 
Captain  who  said  of  us  “Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.”  Not 
once  in  the  past  fifteen  years  has  the  Woman’s  Board  of 
Missions  with  which  I am  most  closely  in  touch  been  able  to 
find  within  twenty  of  the  number  of  volunteers  needed  in  any 
one  of  those  years  to  meet  its  crying  needs,  the  needs  orf  oui 
sisters  in  spiritual  darkness.  Not  once  in  the  past  dozen 
years  that  I have  known  the  affairs  of  my  own  Board  has 
that  Board  been  able  to  secure  the  number  of  recruits  needed 
to  carry  on  its  fight.  “Carry  on” — those  words  take  on  new 
significance  these  days.  But  why  continue?  Page  after 
page  might  be  covered  with  such  stories  as  these  I have  re- 
lated here. 

Our  Marching  Orders.  The  world  knows  our  marching 
orders — “Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  this  Gospel  to 
every  creature.’'  The  world  knows  that  we  claim  to  have  a 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


9 


Cause,  and  they  know  the  methods  by  which  we  might  ad- 
vance that  Cause?  Do  we? 

Last  week  a young  minister  turned  to  me  and  said: 
“When  I told  my  father  and  mother  that  I wanted  to  give 
my  life  to  the  service  of  Christ,  the  instant  reply  was,  ‘Not 
on  the  foreign  field.’”  Not  on  the  foreign  field!  Not  over 
seas!  Not  where  the  hosts  of  the  enemies  of  Christ  and  His 
kingdom  press  thickest  and  hardest.  Not  where  the  lines 
are  calling  desperately  for  reserves.  Not  where  little  chil- 
dren and  frail  women  suffer  from  unrighteousness  as  great 
as  ever  held  Belgium  by  the  throat.  Not  where  the  name  of 
Jesus  is  unknown  and  where  the  love  of  God  has  never  been 
preached.  Not  though  it  be  the  bugle  call  of  Christ  Himself 
and  the  cry  of  humanity  in  its  direst  need — not  there  shall 
our  son  go.  But  put  the  war  bugle  to  the  Nation’s  lips — and 
with  shot  and  shell,  with  sword  and  bayonet  we  send  our 
sons  by  the  thousands  to  trenches  that  run  red  with  blood. 

Slackers.  How  often  do  we  hear  the  old  refrain:  “There’s 
so  much  to  do  at  home.”  Even  if  we  can’t  go  we  can  do  a 
little  right  here.  And  because  there  are  “ Italians  in  New 
York”  or  “a  great  need  out  West”  many  a man  and  woman 
satisfies  conscience  and  turns  from  this  call  from  over  seas. 
God  knows  there  is  need  at  home.  But  let  us  not  forget  that 
there  is  more  actual  work  of  rescue  and  uplift  being  done  in 
New  York  City  than  in  any  other  city  in  the  world  except 
London.  The  settlement  houses  and  churches  and  hospitals 
in  New  York  put  side  by  side  would  reach  from  the  Battery 
to  the  Bronx.  We  had  more  young  Christian  workers  con- 
nected with  the  one  settlement  and  Church  where  I worked 
for  three  years  in  New  York  than  we  have  in  our  entire  prov- 
ince in  Turkey.  But  who  has  the  right  to  put  aside  the  terri- 
ble need  for  soldiers  over  seas  because  we  need  workers 
among  the  immigrants  and  then  settle  down  as  a lawyer  in 
Detroit  or  Los  Angeles?  Who  will  deny  the  honest  charge 
that  a man  or  a woman  who  stays  at  home  because  of  the 


10 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


need  “among  the  poor  whites”  in  the  South  and  then  takes 
up  school  teaching  in  Montclair  or  Wellesley  is  a “slacker” 
in  the  army  of  the  Lord?  I know  a man  who  set  his  whole 
energy  against  his  daughter’s  going  to  India  because  of  the 
“need  at  home,”  but  later  on  he  likewise  refused  to  let  his 
daughter  go  into  settlement  work  in  New  York  City.  There 
is  a great  deal  of  “inconclusive  and  lax  thinking  ” on  this  sub- 
ject of  our  responsibility  to  the  cause  of  “Peace  on  earth, 
good  will  among  men.” 

Pages  from  a Mother’s  Letter.  Side  by  side  with  these 
words  of  parents  who  stand  between  Almighty  God  and  His 
challenge  through  His  Son  to  the  sons  of  men  for  life  service, 
I would  place  the  pages  which  come  to  the  office  of  our 
Board  from  those  mothers  and  fathers  to  whom  Christ  is  the 
Lord  and  Master  they  confessed  Him  to  be  when  they  joined 
His  host  and  enlisted  under  His  banner.  Here  are  a few 
lines  to  a daughter  about  to  enter  missionary  service:  “Your 
father  and  I would  not  dare,  even  if  we  wished,  to  put  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  God’s  purpose  for  your  life;  service  in 
some  form  is  what  we  desire  for  our  children.  We  are  un- 
speakably glad  for  the  consecration  which  makes  you  ready 
to  give  yourself,  and  we  will  do  our  share  of  giving.  ” Sounds 
much  like  letters  many  Christian  parents  are  now  writing  to 
their  children,  with  the  substitution  of  Country  in  the  place 
of  God  and  patriotism  in  the  place  of  consecration. 

Here  are  words  in  a letter  from  a mother  to  her  son  and 
daughter  in  Turkey:  “It  is  not,  after  all,  miles  and  oceans 
that  separate  children  from  their  parents.  There  are  chil- 
dren living  in  this  same  town  with  their  parents  who  are  far 
from  their  mother’s  heart,  but  you  seem  very  near  to  mine 
for  we  are  one  in  the  greatest  of  all  bonds — a common  love 
and  devotion  to  the  service  of  our  blessed  Lord.  And  we  are 
to  have  the  ages  to  come  together  with  Him.  In  this  faith  I 
brought  you  up  and  in  this  faith  we  must  live.”  A father 
writes  to  his  missionary  son:  “Your  mother  and  I gave  you 
wholly,  absolutely,  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  answer  any 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


11 


call  that  He  might  give  you,  for  service  abroad  or  at  home. 
I believe  that  every  Christian  parent  should  learn  of  those 
words  of  the  boy  Jesus,  ‘Did  ye  not  know  that  I must  be 
about  my  Father’s  business?’  God’s  call  is  always  the  su- 
preme call.” 

What  courage  it  will  take  to  stand  at  last  in  the  presence 
of  the  God  who  gave  His  Only  Son  on  Calvary  and  say: 
"Yes,  You  called  my  son,  but  I felt  that  I had  a greater  right 
to  determine  where  my  son  should  spend  his  life  than  You 
and  so  I kept  him  at  home.  ” That  will  take  courage  to  say 
in  "that  great  and  terrible  day.”  But  by  their  actions 
many  a father  and  mother  must  needs  say  it.  Oh,  the  joy  of 
standing  by  the  side  of  a son  and  daughter  and  being  able  to 
say:  "I  thank  Thee,  Lord,  Thou  who  didst  give  Thyself  for 
us,  that  I was  able  to  give  this  my  child  to  Thee  in  Thy  serv- 
ice in  answer  to  Thy  call.” 

Our  Liberty  Loan.  And  now  "our  Liberty  Loan,”  for 
"the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free,”  that 
" they  may  all  come  into  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  ” 
Are  these  just  words,  or  do  they  stand  for  great  fundamental 
truths,  truths  which  made  the  Cross  worthwhile  enduring 
and  the  road  up  Calvary  the  path  of  duty  and  of  willing 
sacrifice?  In  a church  crowded  with  ministers  I listened  re- 
cently to  a passionate  appeal  for  the  raising  of  the  Churches’ 
Liberty  Loan,  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ’s  warfare  over 
seas  among  the  millions  of  heathen  and  non-Christian 
peoples.  The  plea  was  driven  home  with  great  power,  and 
this  was  the  plea — that  the  church  members  of  the  denom- 
ination in  that  state,  the  state  stood  second  in  the  Union  in 
its  giving  to  the  over-seas’  work,  should  raise  their  pledges 
from  a little  over  four  cents  a week  per  member  to  five.  Why, 
if  every  church  member  were  to  give  five  cents  a week  to  the 
support  of  the  army  on  Christ’s  battle  line  abroad  our 
Foreign  Boards  would  be  able  to  announce  the  greatest  ad- 
vance move  ever  contemplated.  A penny  a day  would  be 
too  much,  but  five  cents  a week! 


12 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


“Like  a mighty  army,  moves  the  Church  of  God.** 

“Were  the  whole  realm  of  nature  mine, 

That  were  a present  far  too  small, 

Love  so  amazing,  so  divine, 

Demands  my  soul,  my  life,  my  all.” 

And  the  blood-stained,  battle-scarred  armies  of  the  world 
look  on  and  listen. 

“Stand  up,  stand  up  for  Jesus, 

Ye  soldiers  of  the  Cross, 

Lift  high  His  royal  banner 
It  must  not  suffer  loss.” 

Yes,  the  world  knows  today  what  it  means  to  be  a soldier, 
what  a “War  basis”  is.  It  knows  what  it  costs  to  support 
“a  mighty  army”  in  the  field.  We  sing  and  talk  of  a war 
basis,  but  we  and  volunteer  our  as  those  who  never 
heard  a bugle  blast  or  saw  a banner  wave.  1 1 is  true  that  we 
have  given  to  the  Red  Triangle,  to  the  Red  Cross,  and  to 
many  noble  appeals  we  have  responded  in  these  days.  But 
most  of  these  gifts  are  for  “our  own,”  and  “even  the  publi- 
cans and  sinners  do  likewise.”  The  Germans  have  raised 
huge  sums  for  their  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Red  Cross.  A year  ago 
in  Berlin  I saw  the  marvelous  system  of  their  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work;  and  their  Red  Cross  is  perhaps  the  best  in  the  world. 
Does  thatmak.e  them  advancers  of  the  cause  of  Christ  or  ex- 
cuse them  from  their  failure  on  His  battle  front? 

It  is  to  you,  Mr.  Average  Christian,  that  this  appeal 
should  come.  Do  not  forget  that  thousands,  many  of  them 
poor,  give  far  more  to  the  cause  of  Christ’s  work  “overseas” 
than  you  give.  That  five  cents  a week  does  not  mean  that 
you  have  given  anything  like  that  amount,  for  many  a one  is 
giving  her  ten  and  twenty.  Over  a thousand  churches  of  a 
single  great  denomination  reported  “no  gifts”  for  Christ’s 
missionary  program  last  year.  Can  you  write  out  a logical 
program  and  call  it  Christ's  and  omit  the  missionary  heart? 
And  you,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Average  Christian,  are  the  fathers 
and  mothers  who  are  failing  to  train  your  children  to  a sense 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


13 


of  responsibility  to  the  army  of  Christ  and  to  His  call  for 
soldiers. 

Is  the  Challenge  Fair?  Is  the  challenge  that  we  “ lack  a 
vital  message”  fair,  or  is  it  entirely  wrong?  Has  not  the 
world  a right  to  expect  of  us  either  one  of  two  things:  that  we 
cease  all  this  singing  about  “The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to 
war”  and  “Not  one  mite  would  I withhold”  and  all  our 
other  “war  basis  hymns”  that  we  call  for  so  often  in  our 
Prayer  Meeting  or  at  Christian  Endeavor,  or — that  we  begin 
to  prove  to  the  world  that  we  ARE  on  a war  basis  and  mean 
what  we  say.  That  we  begin  to  give  valid  evidence  in  life 
and  in  gifts  that  the  “Faith  of  our  fathers,  living  still,  in 
spite  of  dungeon,  fire  and  sword,”  is  a conquering  faith,  for 
which  we  will  offer  our  sons,  our  daughters,  our  wealth ; that 
we  are  willing  to  sacrifice  for  it  as  much  as  the  world  is  wil- 
ling to  sacrifice  for  the  kingdoms  of  this  earth.  Has  it  not 
been  true  that  while  we  have  excused  ourselves  with  “re- 
ligion begins  at  home”  we  have  not  really  had  much  mis- 
sionary spirit  right  in  our  own  neighborhood.  How  many 
members  of  the  average  church  are  seeking  to  win  those  who 
do  not  now  know  Christ  as  Lord  and  Master  of  their  lives 
into  His  blessed  allegiance?  If  we  were  doing  that  we  would 
be  longing  for  the  whole  world  to  know  Him.  Can  we  blame 
the  world  for  longing  for  some  passionate  expression  of  and 
devotion  to  a faith  that  will  speak  of  God  and  of  the  things 
that  transcend  the  smoke  of  battle  lines. 

A Soldier’s  Message.  That  they  would  seek  a faith 
whose  followers  back  their  message  with  their  lives  is  to  be  ex- 
pected of  men  who  have  backed  with  their  all  earthly  causes. 
In  the  Boston  Transcript  there  appeared  recently  a letter 
written  by  one  of  the  gallant  soldiers  in  Kitchener’s  army. 
This  letter  contains  a message  which  the  members  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  may  well  heed.  I would  I mightquote 
it  all,  just  as  it  was  written  in  the  hospital,  before  he  died, 
but  let  me  give  a sentence  here  and  there  that  we  may  hear 


14 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


what  a soldier  of  the  world’s  army  thinks  of  us  and  our  fight. 

“Lying  here  in  the  hospital,  helpless,  three  months,  from 
shrapnel  wounds  which  refuse  to  heal,  and,  just  waiting,  I 
have  been  thinking.  Strange,  isn’t  it,  that  my  thoughts  al- 
ways go  back  to  the  one  theme  of  Foreign  Missions — espe- 
cially as  I never  thought  of  them  before  but  in  derision;  yes, 
and  notwithstanding  help  cheerfully  given  me  at  mission 
hospitals  in  Amritsar,  Jaffa  and  Uganda,  when  I was  sick,  I 
do  not  remember  giving  a single  penny  to  Foreign  Missions 
in  my  life.  For  gold  was  my  god.  My  whole  energies  were 
set  on  trade.  I might,  in  common  fairness,  have  recognized 
who  prepared  the  way  for  the  markets  which  I found  so 
profitable.  But  I did  not.  Here  in  my  bed,  reading  my 
New  Testament  at  random,  for  want  of  something  better  to 
do  one  night,  I was  struck  by  the  words  of  John  xvii. , 3 : ‘And 
this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee,  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent.’  I could  not 
forget  these  words.  They  have  been  with  me  every  waking 
hour  these  twelve  months.  They  are  with  me  now.  And  how 
precious  I find  them,  who  can  tell?  They  cause  me  to  care 
not  a jot  for  this  poor  maimed  body  soon  to  be  set  aside. 

“ I realize  now  that  God  cares  for  every  savage  of  our  race, 
even  as  He  cares  for  me.  Would  I had  earlier  known  this 
new  life.  I would  so  gladly  die  for  this  Cause,  now  it  is  too 
late.  It  is  sweet  to  die  for  England — I do  not  regret  it — but 
oh,  the  contemplation  of  what  it  is  to  minister  and  to  die  for 
the  sake  and  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Kings.  That  will 
never  be  my  part.  I do  not  complain.  I am  not  worthy  of 
the  high  honor  involved.  But  perhaps  I might  have  been, 
had  somebody  taken  me  in  hand  early  enough.  Why  does 
the  Church  keep  Foreign  Missions  so  much  in  the  back- 
ground? How  is  it  that  I was  left  so  long  a scoffer? 

“Ido  not  blame  any  mortal,  but  I am  saying  that  there  is 
something  wrong  with  the  scheme  of  things  which  fails  to 
put  the  whole  world  for  Christ  right  in  the  forefront  as  the 
battle  cry  of  the  Christian  Church.  My  message  is  that  all 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


13 


who  are  wise  should  work  in  the  service  while  it  is  day,  re- 
membering the  coming  night.”  These  are  the  words  of  a 
man  face  to  face  with  the  great  realities  of  life  and  death. 
Shall  we  not  face  this  soldier’s  challenge. 

The  Day  of  Victory.  Is  this  a calamity  wail?  Far  from 
it ! One  who  from  childhood  has  read  the  lives  of  the  heroes 
of  this  warfare  of  the  Cross — David  Livingstone,  John  G. 
Baton,  Mackay  of  Uganda,  Cyrus  Hamlin,  Coleridge  Patte- 
son.  Bishop  Hannington,  Eleanor  Chestnut,  Corrina  Shat- 
tuck,  and  a long  list  “who  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms, 
wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises,  stopped  the 
mouth  of  lions,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  from  weak- 
ness were  made  strong — and  others  were  tortured,  not  ac- 
cepting deliverance;  that  they  might  obtain  a better  resur- 
rection,” should  one  who  has  called  these  “friends”  cry 
Alas?  For  thirteen  centuries  the  missionary  spirit  of  the 
Church  lay  dormant.  Today  the  followers  of  Christ  are 
waking  up.  A few  score  years  ago  we  did  not  have  a single 
medical  missionary  on  the  foreign  field ; last  year  three  mil- 
lions in  non-Christian  lands  felt  the  healing  touch  of  the  mis- 
sionary doctor.  Over  27,780  major  operations  were  per- 
formed by  medical  missionaries  sent  out  by  the  Protestant 
Church  of  America  and  Europe  and  as  many  more  by  Cath- 
olic missionaries.  There  are  today  14,066  Catholic  and 
Protestant  missionary  hospitals  on  the  foreign  field.  In 
educational  work  our  missionary  schools  are  found  on  every 
battle  line  where  Christianity  is  face  to  face  with  the  powers 
of  ignorance  and  darkness.  From  Alaska  to  South  Africa 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  being  preached,  and  the  Islands 
are  learning  to  praise  the  Name  that  is  above  every  name. 

And  Crown  Him  Lord  of  All.  Would  I could  picture  to 
you  the  glory  and  the  beauty  of  this  Christian  warfare. 
Would  you  could  catch  the  vision  which  would  thrill  you  at 
the  thought  of  your  share  as  a follower  of  Christ  in  helping  to 
“Crown  Him  Lord  of  All;”  the  honor  of  giving  a son  or 
daughter  to  His  service  over  seas — for  be  it  known  unto  you 


16 


THE  CHURCH  ON  A WAR  BASIS 


that  however  faltering,  however  weak,  the  Church  may  have 
been  in  her  allegiance  to  her  oath  of  loyalty,  those  of  us  who 
have  had  the  high  honor  of  serving  in  His  army  beneath  the 
banner  of  the  Cross  know  that  the  power  of  His  Gospel  is  as 
great  as  in  the  days  when  it  overthrew  the  Eagles  of  Rome. 
That  Gospel  is  still  the  only  interpreter  of  the  problem  of 
evil  which  can  meet  the  cry  of  the  soul  in  agony,  that  Gospel 
still  remains  the  one  great  challenge  to  an  uncompromising 
warfare  against  all  evil — 

Blessings  abound  where’er  He  reigns; 

The  prisoner  leaps  to  loose  his  chains, 

The  weary  find  eternal  rest. 

And  all  the  sons  of  want  are  blest. 

“Here  am  I!”  These  are  not  idle  words,  to  be  sung  by 
people  who  have  no  consciousness  that  they  represent  the 
great  realities  of  life ; God  the  Father  entering  into  the  heart- 
needs  of  His  children  for  their  redemption.  That  message 
your  Lord  and  mine  meant  to  include  the  least,  last,  little 
child  in  far-off  Africa  or  China.  No  woman  in  Turkey  is 
shut  out  from  an  inheritance  in  that  blessing,  no  man  denied 
the  right  to  call  Him  “ Father.  ” But  there  is  one  condition 
placed  upon  His  followers,  namely  that  we  share  with  Him 
who  gave  His  life  our  lives,  with  Him  who  gave  His  sub- 
stance our  substance — that  the  world  may  come  back  to  the 
Father.  Of  us,  in  this  greatest  of  all  warfares  for  the  holiest 
of  all  causes,  is  asked  the  same  answer  the  nations  ask  of 
their  soldiers  in  any  great  adventure,  that  we  respond  as 
soldiers:  “Here  am  I,  take  me!”  Mr.  Average  Christian, 
have  you  been  a soldier  in  this  warfare?  You  stood  one  day 
before  the  congregation  and  took  your  oath  of  allegiance  to 
crown  Him  Lord  of  your  life  and  make  Him  known  to  the 
world.  Are  you  prepared  to  back  up  your  pledge  that  the 
world  may  be  brought  to  Him,  the  Prince  of  Peace?  His 
Kingdom  waits  for  you.  The  advance  is  held  up  by  your 
faintness  of  conviction,  your  fading  enthusiasm.  God  help 
us  to  cease  our  battle  songs  or  to  get  on  a war  basis. 


Correspondence  concerning  the  fields  of  the  American 
Board  and  their  needs  of  more  missionaries  and  more 
funds  should  be  addressed  to  any  one  of  the  Secretaries  of 
the  Home  Department : 

Rev.  Cornelius  H.  Patton  "I  14  Beacon  Street 
Rev.  D.  Brewer  Eddy  ) Boston 

Rev.  Edward  Lincoln  Smith 
4th  Ave.  and  22nd  Street,  New  York  City 

Gifts  for  the  American  Board  should  be  sent  to 
Frank  H.  Wiggin,  Treasurer,  14  Beacon  Street,  Boston. 

Literature  and  Leaflets  of  the  American  Board  may  be 
had  by  addressing: 

John  G.  Hosmer,  Congregational  House,  14  Beacon  St., 
Boston,  Mass. 

Or  at  the  District  Offices: 

Rev.  Edward  Lincoln  Smith,  D.  D.,  4th  Avenue  and 
22nd  St.,  New  York  City. 

Rev.  A.  N.  Hitchcock,  D.  D.,  19  So.  La  Salle  Street, 
Chicago,  111. 

Rev.  H.  H.  Kelsey,  D.  D.,  417  Market  Street, 

San  Francisco,  Cal. 


